Expansion joint cover assembly



y 1965 D. A. SCHMITT 3,183,626

EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed March 5, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 19 ATTORNEYS y 1965 o. A. SCHMITT 3,183,626

EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed March 5. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 --IHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHM F I I I I I I I I I I 1 I l I I 5! 5 E I I I I I I I INVENTOR fini l. (901511112! BY I Z W W ATTORNEYS 1965 D. A. SCHMITT 3,183,626

EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Filed March 5, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 18, 1965 D. A. SCHMITT EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 5, 1964 INVENIOR ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,183,626 EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY Dale A. Schmitt, Oklahoma City, Okla, assignor to Metaiines, Incorporated, Oklahoma City, Okla, a corporation of Oklahoma Filed Mar. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 350,149 13 Claims. (Cl. Sil-ZQS} This application is a continuation-in-part of my earlier copending application Serial No. 260,598, filed February 25, 1963 and now abandoned.

The present invention relates in general .to joint covers for building structures, and more particularly to expansion joint covers for Walls, ceilings, and corners of building structures.

In many building structures, the walls and ceilings are formed in relatively short sections particularly in the case of concrete, concrete block, or brick building walls having relatively high coefiicients of expansion, to avoid cracking of the building walls. The expansion joints or spaces formed between the wall sections, if left exposed, are both unsightly and provide an interruption in the integrity of the building as well as providing defective weather proofing. While various cover structures have been provided to cover these expansion joints, many of them are incorporated in the joint itself, making it difficult to repair or replace the joint cover. Other expan sion joint covers lie wholly outside of or inside of the vertical surface of the building wall and project from the adjacent surface, and are arranged to have sliding contact with at least one of the adjoining wall surfaces during relative expansion and contraction movement of the building walls. These cover structures do not accommodate relative movement of the building wall sections in directions perpendicular to the common plane through them, although they do accommodate relative movement parallel to this common plane, and leave much to be desired from an aesthetic or decorative point of View.

An object of the present invention is in the provision of a novel expansion joint cover for expansion joints between sections of building walls.

Another object of the present invention'is the provision of a novel expansion joint cover for expansion joints between sections of building walls, which may be mounted in a variety of Ways either as flush mounts, or sliding mounts, or as an outside or exposed mount, and which does not have sliding contact with either of the adjacent wall surfaces.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a novel expansion joint cover for expansion joints between adjacent building wall sections, wherein the cover is designed to withstand movement in four directions by the building wall section, along axes parallel to the common plane through the wall sections adjacent to the joint and along axes perpendicular thereto.

Other objects, advantages, and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following detail description, taken in conjunction with the drawings illustrating two preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view, partly in crosssection, of a first preferred embodiment of the expansion joint cover, illustrated in place on the exterior of a building wall;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional plan view of the expansion joint cover shown in FIGURE 1, arranged as a flush mount on an interior building Wall;

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional plan view of the expansion joint shown in FIGURE 1, mounted as a concealed mounton a building wall;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional plan view of the expansion joint cover shown in FIGURE 1, shown as an outside or exposed mount on a building wall;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary section view taken along the line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FTGURE 6 is a fragmentary exploded view of the components of the expansion joint assembly shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional plan view of a second embodiment of the expansion joint cover designed to cover corner wall joints; and

FIGURES 8 and 9 are cross-section plan views of another form of expansion joint covers embodying'my invention, in parallel wall and corner wall installations, respectively.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures, FIGURES 1 to 6 illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention for use with joints between two sections of a wall or ceiling abutting end to end or lying side by side. The expansion joint cover of the present invention, indicated generally by the reference character it), comprises a pair of elongated marginal cover sections 11,

ing sections, in the form of elongated extrusions of similar section providing a front wall 13 and a side wall 14 at right angles thereto. A web or partition 15 projects inwardly from an intermediate region of the side wall 14 in parallelism with the front wall 13 to define an inwardly opening channel 16. An extension 17 adjoins the web 15 and is shaped to form a forwardly opening constricted entrance guide groove 18. The cover sections 11, 12 are each designed to be mounted on the building wall or ceiling sections, indicated at 19, 2% adjacent the expansion joint 21, by means of anchor strips 22, having a base panel 23 which fits flush against the surface of th adjacent wall section and is provided with a countersunk opening 24 for a mounting bolt 24a. The base panel 23 is flanked at one edge, the inner edge as shown by a hookshaped flange 25 adapted to receive a bead or rib formation 26 at the inner edge of the extension 17 bounding the groove formation 18. The opposite edge of the base panel 2-3 has an outwardly projecting locking flange 27 having an outwardly facing groove 28 therein near its base to receive a rib 29 integral with and projecting inwardly from the side wall 14 of sections 11, i2, the flange 27 also having a tapped opening 30 to receive a locking bolt Silo extending through a countersunk opening in sid wall 14.

The expansion joint lying between the adjacent ends of the building wall sections 19, 20 and between the cover sections l1, i2, is covered by a cover plate 31 having tapered and rounded edges 32, 33 which are slidably received in the inwardly opening channels 16 of the cover sections 11, 12 so as to continuously span the distance between the cover sections 11, 12 over the total range of expansion and contraction of the building wall sections. The cover'plate 31 is continuously maintained in centered relation between the cover sections 11, 12 by a centering strip or bar member 34, preferably made of spring steel pivoted at its center by rivet 35 to a depending elongated L-shaped rib 36 formed on the underside of the cover plate 31. The outer ends of the centering strip 34 are provided with circular openings 37 through which headed slide pins 38 project, the shanks 39 of the pins 38 extending freely through the openings 37 and the enlarged heads 49 being slidably seated in the guide grooves 18 to track freely therein. The slide pins 38 are formed of some plastic or non-abrasive material, such for example as nylon, and the heads 49 are of circular cross-section of suita le diameter relative to the transverse dimension of the grooves 18 so that the pins 38 readily slide along the i2, herein sometimes referred to as mounting or framthe cover plate 31, are preferably formed of aluminum or some similar light, readily extrudable material oralloy. Since relative movement of one of such components with respect to the other, as the cover plate 31 relative to the cover sections 11 and 12, may produce unsightly scratches on the exposed surface of the cover plate 31 exposed, to view, plastic strips 41 of non-abrasive material, such as nylon, may be provided on the surface of the channel 16 formed by the front wall 13 of each cover section 11, 12 to lie between the front wall 13 and the adjacent marginal portion of the cover plate 31 and prevent scratching of the latter.

In the installation of the expansion joint cover 10, the anchor strips 22 are fixed against the exposed surfaces of the building wall sections 19, 20 adjacent the joint 21 by means of conventional anchor bolts 24a extending through suitable countersunk openings 24 in the base panels 23,

thereof and into conventional anchors or plugs (not shown) in the building wall. The anchor strips 22 are preferably positioned so that the end thereof bearing the hook flange 25 is aligned flush with the plane of the end surface of the associated wall section bounding the joint. The cover plate 31 having a plurality of centering strip members 34 carrying plastic slide pins 38 riveted thereto at longitudinally spaced points along the length thereof is then assembled with a pair of cover sections 11, 12 by fitting the heads of the pins 38- into the ends of the grooves 18 and sliding the pins 38 and the marginal edge portions 32, 33 of the cover plate 31 longitudinally along the grooves 18 and channels 16, respectively, until the length of cover plate 31 is aligned with the pair of cover sections 11, 12. The head formation 26 at the inner edges of the extensions 17 of sections 11, 12 are then fitted into the recess therefor formedby the hook shaped flange 25 of the associated cover sections 17 and the ribs 29 are fitted into-the locking flanges 27 of strips 22, after which the locking bolts 30a are threaded into the tapped openings 30 to securely hold the cover sections 11, 12 on their associated anchor strips 22.

It will be understood that the expansion joint cover assembly will readily accommodate in an obvious manner variations-in the width of the expansion joint encountered with changes in temperature, which involves relative movement of the end portions of the building wall sec tions 19, 20adjacent the joint 21 either toward or away from each other along the directionof the common plane of the building wall sections 11, 12, as indicated by the arrows 43, 44 in FIGURE 4. As the portions of the buildingwall sections 19, 20 carrying the anchor strips 22 and cover sections 11, 12 withdraw from each other, the relative spacing between the grooves 18 of the two cover sections 11, 12 forming tracks for the slide pins 38 are progressively spaced'further apart, effecting a counter clockwise rotation of the centering strips 34 about their pivots, asviewed in FIGURE 5. This effectively maintains the cover plate 31 centered relative to the cover sections 11, 12 as the vcoversections 11, 12 are permitted to move further apart, the relative movement of the components being accommodated by the rotating centering strip 34 and the cover plate margins 32, 33 moving in the channels 16and the expansion joint being continuously covered over the range of joint expansion and contraction to be encountered by appropriate sizing of the components.

Additionally, the expansion joint cover assembly accommodates relative movement of the building wall sections 19, 20 in directions perpendicular to the common place between the wall sections 19, 20, as indicated by the arrows 45, 46 of FIGURE 4. This is achieved by reason of the distortable nature of thefiat spring steel centering strip 34 and the relative angular movement of the cover plate 31 accommodated by the channels 16 in the cover sections 11, 12. As shown in FIGURE 4, displacement of thebuilding wall section 19 toward the bottom of the drawing relative to the wall section 19 distorts the spring strip 34 within its elastic limit to offset theend portion carrying the slide pin 38 tracking in, the groove of cover section 11 rearwardly from the plane of the opposite end portion, the spring strip 34 adopting a somewhat serpentine configuration in profile. The relatively small angle tilting of the plane of the cover plate 31 is readily accommodated by the width of the channels 16 and the tapered or inclined rear portion of the cover plate edges 32, 33.

The expansion joint cover assembly 10 provides an attractive unit which may be conveniently arranged as an outside or exposed mount, as illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 4. The assembly may also be installed as a flush mount, as shown in FIGURE 2, wherein the anchor strips 22 are fixed directly to the basic building wall 47, such as concrete, or concretesand cinder blocks, or bricks, and plaster, wall board or wood surfacing 48 of the thickness of the depthwise dimension of the cover assembly is applied up to the side walls 14 of the cover sections 11, 12. Additionally, the cover assembly may be readily installed as a concealed mount, as shown in FIGURE 3, wherein the anchor strips 22 are secured to'the basic building wall 47 as in the flush mount installation, layers of cement or similar foundation coating material 49 of the thickness of the cover sections 11, 12 being then provided on the basic building wall and the whole being surfaced with tile 50 or like surfacing material extending up to the free edge of the front wall 13 of eachcover section 11, 12, It will be apparent that the use. of a pair of channeled marginal cover sections 11, 12 fixed to the relatively movable building wall sections, with the cover plate 31 centered therebetween, and extending. into the channels 16 in relatively movable lapping relation to the front walls 13 of the cover sections 11,12, maintains a closure or covering over the expansion joint without sliding engagement of a cover member with at leastone of the adjacent wall surfaces as in conventional joint covers. This avoids any scratching or scarring of the wall finish as may occur with conventional covers, and provides a unit which may be installed with equal facility in the exposed flush or concealed arrangements described above. As a matter of fact, the assembly is particularly suited to attractive installations in composite wall situationssuch as bathrooms, locker roomsandthe like where the lower portion of the wall surfaces are tile wainscoting or the like and the upper portion is plaster. In such cases the expansion joint cover assembly may be installed as a concealed mount over the tile wainscoting region and asa flush mount over the plaster wall zone.

The basic concepts involved in the above-described em bodiment can also be employed in an expansion joint cover for a corner wall joint 51, as shown in FIGURE 7, between building wall sections 52 and 53. The left-hand marginal cover section 12'and anchor strip '22 of the corner joint cover assembly, 54 are identical to the marginal cover section 12 and anchor strip 22 of the first-described embodiment and corresponding portions thereof are indicated by reference characters having the primes of the reference characters usedin describing the first embodiment. The other marginal cover section is desiginated by the reference character 55 and is especially designed to be fixed to a wall surface extending perpendicular to the plane of the frontwall 13 of cover section 12'. To this end, the cover section 55 has a front wallportion 56, a side web portion :57 and a web 5-8 projecting inwardly from portion 57 in substantial parallelism with front wall portion 56 and having a guide groove 59 therein, all similar to walls 13 and 14, web 15 and guide groove 18 of the first-described embodiment. However, a'corner mounting extension 69 projects from the front wall portion 56 of the cover section 55 and includes a front panel 6d projecting at right angles to the plane of front wall section 56 terminating in a locking flange or endjwall 62 having a countersunk opening 63 and one or more inwardly projecting ribs 64. The ribs 64 are designed to be received in grooves 65 of an anchor strip 66 having a base panel 67 and a projecting i'lange 68. The base panel 67 has an opening as for receiving a mounting bolt 69a securing the anchor strip as to the building wall 53 and the flange 68 has a tapped opening "it? therein aligned with the countersunk opening 63 to receive the locking bolt 71 and interlock the marginal cover section 55 with the anchor strip 66. The guide grooves 59 and 18 of cover sections 55 and 12' receive the heads 49' of slide pins 33' mounted in openings in the end portions of centering strip 34', which is pivotally connected at its center to a depending L-shaped rib 36 of the cover plate 31' to operate in the same manner as the elements having corresponding unprimed reference characters in the first-described embodiment.

Another modified form of expansion joint cover embodying the basic principles of the joint covers hereinabove described, is illustrated in FIGURE 8 and indicated generally by the reference character 80. The expansion joint cover unit may be readily employed in floors, building walls, or ceilings, but for convenience, will be described as associated with a floor to cover the joint 81 between two adjoining fioor sections 82, S3. The expansion joint cover 89, as in the embodiments described above, includes a pair of mounting strips r84, adapted to be embedded in the concrete of the floor sections 82, $3 at the upper corners thereof flanking the joint 81, and are provided with suitable right angular threaded anchors 84a, 85a, of conventional configuration. Each of the mounting strips 8'4, 85 is provided with a constricted entrance guide groove 86 having a con-figuration resembling, but inverted with respect to, the guide grooves 18 of the first-described embodiment, to slidably receive a spring metal centering strip 87 and headed slide pins 88 extending through suitable apertures in the opposite ends of the centering strip 87. The longitudinal center of the centering strip 87 is threaded to receive the threaded shank of a bolt 39 extending from the center of an expansion joint cover plate 9 1: whose length corresponds to the length of the joint and whose width is slightly greater than the width of the joint to lap over the mounting strips 84, 85 at all expanded conditions of the joint 81. The cover plate fit in this embodiment is of rectangular configuration in vertical cross section and is provided with lateral edges 9 -92 slidably received in inwardly and upwardly opening rabbets 93 of the mounting strips -84. 85. The lateral edges 91, 92 of the cover plate 96 are normally spaced a short distance from the bases 94 of the rabbets 93, which space is occupied by a flexible filler strip, such as vinyl plastic, indicated at 3 5, having a thin flange portion 96 adapted to extend between the adjacent surfaces of the cover plate and mounting strips 84, 85 and a headed tongue 97' to fit into a dovetailed channel 93 at the base 94 of each rabbet 93. A suitable flexible moisture seal, also preferably formed of vinyl plastic or the like, is indicated at 99 and lies in a U-shaped channel 100 in the horizontal wall 94 of the rabbet 93 adjacent the joint 81.

It will be appreciated that the action of this expansion joint cover unit 86 will be similar to that of the previously described embodiments, in that the tracking of the slide pins 88 in the guide grooves 36 will maintain the plural centering strips 87 in correspondingly inclined directions disposing the bolt 89 and cover plate 90 centered with respect to the joint 81 during expansion or contraction of the floor sections 82, "83 bounding the joint. The flexible character of the vinyl filler strips flanking the cover plate 9%) permit them to accommodate the relative movement between the lateral edges 91, @2 of the cover plate and the base walls 94 of the mounting strips 84, 85 without creating an unsightly appearance, and, in cooperation with the moisture seals 1%, make the joint completely moisture tight to prevent Water from accumulating in the construction joint, and when used on upper fioors of multistoried buildings, does not allow moisture to soil the ceiling of the lower floor. Also, due to the nature of the connection between the cover plate -90 and the mounting strips 84, 85 through the spring steel strip 8'7 and pins 88, relative movement of the portions of the joint in four directions is accommodated, namely up and down and horizontally in both directions.

A similar modification is illustrated in FIGURE 9 for a corner installation, wherein the components of the expansion joint cover unit are all indicated by the primes of the reference characters of the corresponding compo nents in the FIGURE 8 form. In the FIGURE 9 modification, the expansion joint cover assembly 80' covers a joint 81 between a building wall section 82', for example a vertical side wall, and a floor or Wall section 33', in which case the mounting strip 84- has an extension 84" from the base of the rabbet 93' to extend along the vertical surface of the building wall 82' and be anchored thereto by a suitable anchoring screw. Also, the mounting strip 85' is slightly modified to forms two-piece construction, consisting of a first mounting strip portion 1M adapted to be cast in the corner of the building wall 83' andsecured thereto by suitable anchors as shown, and a second mounting strip portion 102 having the constricted entrance guide groove 86 and the rabbet 93 therein. It will be appreciated that the corner expansion joint cover assembly 8d illustrated in FIGURE 9 will operate in the same manner as the expansion joint cover assembly Sit of FIGURE 8 to accommodate expansion and contraction of the building wall portions in four directions and to maintain the cover plate 9% always centered with respect to the space formed between the adjacent edges of the mounting strips 84', 85.

While several preferred embodiments of the present invention have been particularly shown and described, it is apparent that various modifications may be made therein within the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations be placed on the invention as are imposed by the prior art and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed in spaced relationship having an elongated joint therebetween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover mounting members adapted to be fixed to the respective structural sections adjacent the joint having aligned in a common plane recesses opening at least inwardly of the joint, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said recesses for relative movement spanwise of the joint, and centering means rotatably connected to said cover plate adjacent the center thereof having opposite end portions coupled to said mounting members for sliding movement longitudinally of the latter upon relative spanwise movement of said mounting members With their associated structural sections to maintain said cover plate centered relative thereto.

2. An expansion joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed in spaced relationship having an elongated expansion joint therebetween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover mounting members adapted to be fixed to the respective structural sections adjacent the joint having aligned in a common plane recesses opening at least inwardly of the joint, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said recesses for relative movement spanwise of the joint, a plurality of elongated centering strips pivotally connected at their longitudinal centers to said cover plate adjacent the center of the latter, slide members coupled to said centering strips adjacent the opposite ends thereof, and said mounting members having rectilinear guide track means therein slidably receiving said slide members to guide the same along parallel paths and cause said centering strips to rotate in angularly coordinated relation about their pivot connections with said cover plate upon relative spanwise movementjof the mounting members with their associated structural sections and thereby maintain said cover plate centered relative to said mounting members.

3. A joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed in spaced relationship having an elongated joint therebetween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover framing members adapted to be fixed to the respective structural sections adjacent the joint having aligned channels facing inwardly of the joint and lying in a common plane, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said channels for relative movement depthwise of the channels, and centering means rotatably connected to said cover plate adjacent the center thereof having opposite end portions coupled to said framing members for sliding movement longitudinally of the latter upon relative approaching and withdrawing movement of said framing members with their associated structural sections to maintain said cover plate centered relative thereto.

4. A joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed in spaced relationship-having an elongated joint therebctween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover framing members adapted to be fixed to the respective structural sections adjacent the joint having channels,

facing inwardly of the joint and lying in a common plane, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said channels for relative movement depthwise of the channels, and centering means rotatably connected to said cover plate adjacent the center thereof having opposite end portions coupled to said framing members for sliding movement longitudinally of the latter upon relative approaching and Withdraw ing movement of said framing members to maintain said cover plate centered relative thereto, said centering means being elongated strip members which are flexibly deformable in a direction penpendicular to said common plane to accommodate relative movement of said structural sections along said direction.

5. A joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed in spaced relationship having an elongated joint therebetween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover framing members adapted to be mounted on corresponding exposed surfaces of each of the structural sections adjacent the joint having channels'facing inwardly of the joint and lying in a common plane, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said channels for relative movement depthwise of the channels, a plurality of elongated centering strips pivotally connected at their longitudinal centers to said cover plate adjacent the center of the latter, slide members coupled to said centering strips adjacent the opposite ends thereof, and said framing members having rectilinear guide tracks therein slidably receiving said slide members to guide the same along parallel paths and cause saidcenten'ng strips to rotate in angularly coordinated relation about their pivot connections with said cover plate upon relative approaching and withdrawing movement of the framing members with their associated structural sections and thereby maintain said cover plate centered relative to said framing members.

6. A joint cover assembly for structural sections disposed. in spaced relationship having an elongated joint therebetween, comprising a pair of parallel elongated cover framing members adapted to be mounted on corresponding exposed surfaces of each of the structural sections adjacent the joint having channels facing inwardly of the joint and lying in a common plane, an elongated cover plate for spanning the joint in covering relation thereto having opposite edge portions slidably received in lapped relation in said channels for relative movement depthwise of the channels, a plurality of elon- 8 gated centering strips, pivotally connected at their longitudinal centers to said cover plate adjacent the center of the latter, slide members having circular section head portions coupled to said centering-strips adjacent the opposite ends thereof, and said framing members having rectilinear guide tracks therein slidably receiving the head portions of said slide members to guide the same along parallel paths and cause said centering strips to rotate about their pivot connections with said cover plate upon relative approaching and withdrawing movement and thereby maintain said cover plate centered relative to said framing members.

7. In a joint cover assembly, the combination recited in claim 5, wherein said centering strips are pivotally connected to said cover plate for rotary movement about pivot axes extending perpendicular to said common plane and are flexibly deformable in directions paralleling said pivot axes responsive to relative movement of said structural sections in said directions.

8.-An expansion jointv cover assembly for building wall sections disposed in spaced relation having an elongated expansion jointtherebetween, comprisingan elongated cover plate adapted to be retained in covering relation to the joint in substantial parallelism with the plane of the outer surface of one of the wall sections, said cover plate having parallel opposite lateral edge portions, a pair of parallel, elongated cover plate framing members adapted to be mounted on corresponding exposed surfaces of the adjoining; wall sections adjacent the joint in lapping, framing relation to said cover plate, said framing members each having an outer wall portion and an inwardly spaced partition connected remote from the cover plate by a connecting web to define a channel for receiving the edge portions of said cover plate and accommodating relative movement of the same in the plane of the cover plate and in angular, tilting relation thereto, with said edge portions continuously lapped by said front wall panel throughout the range of relative approaching and withdrawing movement of said Wall sections normally occurring due to temperature variations, and centering means pivotally secured to said coverplate and having means slidably coupling the centering means with said framing-members for movement along generally parallel paths extending longitudinally of. the framing members to continuously position said cover plate in substantially centered relation relative to said framing members.

9. An expansion joint cover assembly for building wall sections disposed in spaced relation having an elongated expansion joint therebetween, comprising an elongated cover plate adapted to be retained in covering relation to the joint in substantial parallelism with the plane of the outer surface ofone' of the wall sections, said cover plate having parallel opposite lateral edge portions,,a pair of parallel, elongated cover plate framing members adapted to be mounted on corresponding exposed surfaces of the adjoining wall sections adjacent the joint in lapping, framing relation to said cover plate, said framing members each having an outer wall portion and an inwardly spaced partition connected remote from the cover plate by a connecting web to define a channel for receiving the edge portions of said cover plate and accommodating relative movement of the same in the plane of the cover plate and in angular, tilting relation thereto, with said edge portions continuously lapped by said front wall panel throughout the range of relative approaching and withdrawing movement of said wall sections normally occurring due to temperature variations, and centering means pivotally secured to said cover plate and having means slidably coupling said centering means with said framing members for movement along generally parallel paths extending longitudinally of the framing members to continuously position said cover plate in substantially centered relation relative to said framing members, said centering means including members extending from the pivotal connection of the same with said cover plate to the slidably coupling means which are flexibly deformable in directions perpendicular to the plane of said cover plate to accommodate relative movement of said framing members in said last-mentioned directions.

10. In an expansion joint cover, the combination recited in claim 8, wherein said centering means includes a plurality of elongated straps pivotally connected at their centers to said cover plate for rotary movement about axes perpendicular to the plane of said cover plate, said straps being flexibly deformable in directions parallel to said axes and having circular head slide members projecting inwardly from opposite ends of said straps and said framing members having rectilinear elongated slide grooves therein opening toward the channel thereof slidably receiving the circular heads of said slide members.

11. An expansion joint cover assembly for building wall sections disposed in spaced relation having an elongated expansion joint therebetween, comprising an elongated cover plate adapted to be retained in covering relation to the joint in substantial parallelism with the plane of the outer surface of one of the wall sections, said cover plate having parallel opposite lateral edge portions, a pair of parallel, elongated flanking mounting members adapted to be mounted on corresponding exposed surfaces of the adjoining wall sections adjacent the joint in lapped relation with said cover plate, said mounting members each including a rigid body portion having a lower inwardly opening guide channel paralleling the length of the joint and an upper rabbet bounded by a bearing surface and a shoulder perpendicular thereto for receiving the edge portions of said cover plate and accommodating relative movement of the same in the plane of the cover plate and in angular, tilting relation thereto with said edge portions continuously lapping said bearing surface throughout the range of relative spanwise movement of said wall sections normally occurring due to temperature variations, a plurality of angularly movable centering straps pivotally secured at their midregion to said cover plate and having terminal slide members in said guide channels coupling the centering straps with said mounting members to continuously position said cover plate in substantially centered relation relative to said mounting members during relative spanwise movement of said wall sections, and flexible, resiliently compressible filler block members filling the space within the rabbet of each of said mounting members between said shoulders and the adjacent edges of said cover plate.

12. In an expansion joint cover assembly as defined in claim 11, said cover plate being slightly shallower in depth than said rabbets, and said filler block members having a body portion of substantially rectangular cross section occupying the associated space between said shoulders and adjacent cover plate edges to a level flush with uppermost surfaces of said cover plate and mounting members, and an integral shallow lip projecting between the adjacent cover plate edge and the associated rabbet bearing surface.

13. In an expansion joint cover assembly as defined in claim 11, said cover plate being slightly shallower in depth than said rabbets, said filler block members having a body portion of substantially rectangular cross section occupying the associated space between said shoulders and adjacent cover plate edges to a level flush with uppermost surfaces of said cover plate and mounting members and an integral shallow lip projecting between the adjacent cover plate edge and the associated rabbet bearing surface, and a moisture sealing strip interposed between each of said rabbet bearing surfaces and the adjacent lapping portions of said cover plate to seal the expansion joint against passage of moisture therethrough.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,580,034 12/51 Lyons -346 X 2,948,994 8/60- Thom 50-434 X FOREIGN PATENTS 585,279 10/59 Canada.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner. 

11. AN EXPANSION JOINT COVER ASSEMBLY FOR BUILDING WALL SECTIONS DISPOSED IN SPACED RELATION HAVING ELONGATED EXPANSION JOINT THEREBETWEEN, COMPRISING AN ELONGATED COVER PLATE ADAPTED TO BE RETAINED IN COVERING RELATION TO THE JOINT IN SUBSTANTIAL PARALLELISM WITH THE PLANE OF THE OUTER SURFACE OF ONE OF THE WALL SECTIONS, SAID COVER PLATE HAVING PARALLEL OPPOSITE LATERAL EDGE PORTIONS, A PAIR OF PARALLEL, ELONGATED FLANKING MOUNTING MEMBERS ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON CORRESPONDING EXPOSED SURFACES OF THE ADJOINING WALL SECTIONS ADJACENT THE JOINT IN LAPPED RELATION WITH SAID COVER PLATE, SAID MOUNTING MEMBERS EACH INCLUDING A RIGID BODY PORTION HAVING A LOWER INWARDLY OPENING GUIDE CHANNEL PARALLELING LENGTH OF THE JOINT AND AN UPPER RABBET BOUNDED BY A BEARING SURFACE AND A SHOULDER PERPENDICULAR THERETO FOR RECEIVING THE EDGE PORTIONS OF SAID COVER PLAE AND ACCOMMODATING RELATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE SAME IN THE PLANE OF THE COVER PLATE AND IN ANGULAR, TILTING RELATION THERETO WITH SAID EDGE PORTIONS CONTINUOUSLY LAPPING SAID BEARING SURFACE 